Dawn
by Tarex
Summary: 1: First story in what I hope will be a fairly decent series about the friendship between Aragorn and Legolas. Set when Estel is only 14 in Mirkwood. Rated for safety.
1. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1**_

The 14-year-old boy ran his hand along the rough bark of one of the many twisted trees surrounding him. He swore under his breath when his hand came into contact with a sticky substance and he instantly pulled it back, setting off along the virtually unnoticeable path beneath him with twice the speed of before. He knew what it was that covered the trees and his path in some cases. He knew it meant danger from the stories his brothers had told him. On the other hand, he hadn't thought those same stories were true until he ran into the first web.

There was enough light that he could manage to make out his immediate surroundings. He had tried a torch when he first found himself lost in the woods, but that had had less than pleasant results, and he'd put it out within moments of lighting it. His hand was wrapped tightly around the hilt of a broadsword at his side. The familiar leather was of only slight comfort to him. He knew full well that anything that attacked him was used to the lack of light. He was not. After three days in the thick, musty woods his eyes had adjusted somewhat to the gloom; however they could only become so good in such a short period of time.

He stepped carefully, doing all he could to stay silent and although every noise he did make echoed in his ears, he was doing surprisingly well for a human. He twitched every time his boots made noise, when he stepped in a puddle or mud, every time he brushed a twig or bush. He was nervous and his face showed it.

His eyes swung back and forth across his path as his grip tightened over the hilt. He wasn't sure what made him stop, but he had learned to trust his instincts and he wasn't about to ignore them now. Slowly drawing the blade from its sheath, he turned to give himself a better idea of his surroundings. He fought his want to run, knowing that he'd get lost in a heartbeat if he left the path in this dark forest, and that his chances of finding it again should he leave it were one in a million.

_'Or at least that's a normal mans chances,'_ He thought sarcastically, _'with my luck… I'd walk right over it… several times… and not know it.'_

Pushing his thoughts aside he listened carefully, trying to find the source of his unease. All he heard was a very faint whistling of the wind above the treetops and the near silent buzzing of the moths and other insects that flooded the trees. He realized that the one thing he was worried about at the moment probably wouldn't make any noise at all. The spiders. He was paranoid about them.

_'I never thought spiders would scare me this much,' _his sarcastic thoughts returned momentarily before he could shake them off again.

He strained his eyes, knowing that they were the only things that could help him at the moment. The black air around him wouldn't allow it though - he was lucky to see past the first of the many trees surrounding him. His skin was crawling; it felt as though the spiders were already upon him. He shuddered, forcing the idea of being covered by them from his mind. He tried to tell himself it was an irrational fear, but he couldn't convince the hair that stood up on the back of his neck, or the chills that ran up and down his body. The cold air clung to him, yet he found himself beginning to sweat. What was it that had gotten him so worked up?

He could feel eyes piercing him. Intelligent eyes. Not the eyes he expected from a group of arachnids. This wasn't right.

Shifting his footing, he readied himself for an attack. He swallowed nervously, his thoughts drifting to a few weeks ago when we was once again beaten down rather easily by his eldest brother in a mock sword fight. His skills needed work and he was unsure if they would be enough now that he needed them.

He stiffened when he realized that he felt the presence behind him now… it had moved. It had moved so silently he hadn't even noticed it until it had gotten behind him. His breathing hitched as he spun around to face his possible attacker. Nothing. He couldn't see anything, but he was sure it was in front of him at the moment, and he forced himself to concentrate on it. If it thought it could get behind him again; indeed if it DID get behind him again; chances were good it would attack.

Whatever _it_ was.

Despite the nervousness it made him feel, despite the fear it created and the anger he felt from it… he didn't feel the evil intent he'd felt on his last close run ins with the spiders.

Wait.

Could it be one of the elves that lived nearby?

No, if it were he wouldn't feel so threatened… would he? Maybe he would… after all he may be considered a trespasser. Certainly humans on these paths weren't a common occurrence and probably were cause for concern for them. His thoughts snapped back to a conversation between his father and his two closest advisors little over two months ago that he had overheard. They had said that Mirkwood was being attacked by a nearby human settlement and that they were trying to fix the issue before anyone got seriously hurt.

The kid smacked his palm against his forehead. Of course! With that attack, surely the elves would be leery of his being here. He paled slightly, his hand slowly dropping down to his side; last he had heard, any humans found in the woods were being taken prisoner by the elves.

Shaking, he slowly lowered himself to his knees and laid his sword in front of him before placing his hands on the ground. He opened his mouth to speak but found himself unable to do so. His mouth and throat were dry and the words refused to form. His fear wouldn't allow them to. He lifted his head just enough to see the ground up to the tree-line and jumped slightly when he caught sight of the elven shoes directly in front of him. A second elf he hadn't even realized was there reached in front of him from behind and roughly jerked his hands behind him, tightly knotting a thin rope around them before hauling him to his feet and checking him for weapons. The man grit his teeth as the rope cut into his wrists in his standing position.

"How did you get elven weapons human?" The one behind him growled in a slightly broken Westron.

"They were given to me," the young boy murmured softly.

"Is that right?" The first elf stated sharply, his Westron perfect, "I suppose you wouldn't be able to tell me why your hunting knife is the same as the ones used by over half our border guard?"

"My brother gave it to me years ago," letting his head droop and his dark, wavy hair fall over his eyes, he stopped fighting the fear in them, but he refused to let them see it. He shuffled his weight, the nerves in his brain shooting off in one too many directions for him to understand. Put simply he didn't know how he was supposed to act in this position, should he be defiant like every bone in his body wanted to be? Or should he shut up and be a good little captive like his head was telling him? His heart… well it didn't know either so he ignored the rock-like feeling in his chest that was its indecision.

"I highly doubt that," the first elf growled faintly, leaning forward ever so slightly, "you do know that one of our patrol units disappeared a week ago, right?"

Responding completely honestly, the human shook his head quickly and almost imperceptibly.

Narrowing his eyes, the elf leaned forward and pulled the mans head up so he could face him eye to eye, "They're sending in children now are they? What did they send you to do?"

"I didn't come here because I wanted to, or because I was told to," the fearful voice of the young man came out louder than he had intended, "I got separated from my brothers and they wouldn't have gone on without me so I figured this would be somewhere they might look."

Te first elf spoke again, his tone one of obvious annoyance and surprise, "Why exactly would your brothers look for you HERE when there are several human settlements nearby?"

The child scowled, "Because they know I wouldn't go there."

He inwardly winced and berated himself for speaking out. He certainly didn't wish to anger the elves any more than they already were.

Carefully glancing over the elf in front of him, he instantly noted the differences between this elf and most of the ones he knew from home. He realized he looked more like Glorfindel, what with his incredibly blonde hair. Actually… the look on his face reminded him of the one Glorfindel made when he realized Erestor had gone on leave for a week and left him with a rather large pile of paperwork to deal with.

The elf raised an eyebrow, his annoyance growing steadily, "And why is it that you would rather come here, where you should have known you wouldn't be welcomed."

"Because I hate humans as much as you seem to," he snapped before gasping as the elf behind him kicked him in the back of the knees.

Without letting him fully reach the ground the same elf angrily hauled him back up to his feet by the rope around his wrists.

'_I really do need to learn to keep those comments to myself,' _he thought, getting rather annoyed with himself, _'none-the-less, I don't know if I quite deserved that…'_

"Don't talk back to the Prince," the second elf snarled, jabbing the young man in the back with his own sword.

Eyes widening, the young man instantly jerked his head up to face the seething prince.

Only the elf's anger wasn't directed at _him_ this time, but the other elf, who cowered back slightly, apologizing in his native tongue. The prince sighed and shook his head before cracking a faint smile that barely lasted a fraction of a second.

"You… you're Price Legolas?" The human questioned quietly, excitement and relief suddenly replacing his fear.

"I suppose there would be no point in hiding it now. So yes, I am. This seems to please you an awful lot."

"Yes, my brothers know you."

"Most people around here _do_ know who I am," the elven prince growled, "that does not mean they know me."

The child sighed and shook his head slightly, the elf obviously did no understand what he was trying to say and for the moment he decided to drop it. It was not getting through to him and he was mad. Too mad to hear anything he was trying to get through to him. Adults could be so annoying. Why did they always assume anyone younger than them never had anything important to say?

AN:

Hey hey everyone, thank you all for reviewing, I really appreciated it :3

I made a few changes to the first chapter, hope it works a little better. Can't hurt to go back and fix it up anyway, right:)

WendWriter - Thank you for the help :D I hope this works better… I know it's still not great, lol. I sat down and wrote this in maybe ten minutes… I really have to get into the habit of checking my work and… you know… thinking… before I post :P I know things aren't quite in line with what Tolkien wrote, and I'll try to fix things as best I can as I go along, but to be perfectly honest, I know I can't write like he did, and I know it wont run with his books as well as it could… but to be fair, there were some things in his own work that didn't fit together perfectly or changed between books :P though I can't exactly remember what they were ' . lol, either way, I know I can't write like him, and I'm not too worried about trying. I want to please my readers, but I want to have fun too, and worrying about every little thing will kill t3h fun. I'll do what I can :) but I know I wont be able to please the hard-core fans that know those books like they lived them. But I'll take what you said to heart, and I'll try to fix things as I go Thank you for taking the time to review, I appreciate the honesty

Poetic Tragedy3790 - lol, I'm glad you liked it :P

AriendalTHEMighty – I'm glad you enjoyed it :P But I do appreciate the criticism, can't learn without it right? And they have the right to express their feelings lol I'll admit, I have a tendency to take it badly, but I just sit on it a day and re-read it… try to take the good points right? I just can't stand outright flames… like 'You suck, lern to rite' :P I will verbally bite heads off XD I have a bad temper, I know it, I'm just glad I learned to control it… for the most part :P Constructive criticism I appreciate though. Of course, I can appreciate that you like my style too :D lol Thanks for the review I hope the rest of the story lives up to your expectations.

So, I'm sorry about what will be many annoying messages in your inboxes, I messed up when I re-posted this :P so no, there aren't three differen't chapters, just the same one all over again XD Or mostly the same, I changed a few things, but it's not much so if you don't feel like re-reading it all, it's not entirely worth it anyway lol

Thank you everyone for your reviews, I appreciated it :D

Catch ya laterz 3


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 

"Sit down child, we're stopping for the night."

The young human dropped himself down to the dirt and leaned against a nearby tree, his head falling forward to his chest. The two elves had been pushing him for three days now. Apparently they had wanted to finish their rounds before they headed back to the city. They hadn't taken into account that their prisoner was only fourteen years old, or that he was, in fact, human.

He groaned softly and slumped back, eyes instantly sliding shut. He shook slightly. It was cold and he was wet after a sudden rainstorm that had come through the thick treetops like waterfalls. He was hungry, he felt dehydrated, and to put it bluntly, he felt sick. He was moments from letting himself drift off when he heard a sudden shout of pain from his left.

Dragging his eyes open he caught sight of the second elf on his knees with an arrow piercing through his arm and into his side. Legolas had jumped to his friend's side. The child clumsily scrambled to his feet, panic flooding his veins; what else could possibly go wrong?

"Don't move boy, we don't wanna hurt ya if we can avoid it," the voice came from the trees, cold and flat.

Catching sight of one of the elf's hunting knives that had been dropped when he was shot, the human slowly stepped back towards it, his eyes wide and scanning the tree line fearfully. Though he had planned on faking a fall, he didn't need to as his weak physical state drew him to the ground before he had the chance. He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut in an attempt to block out the headache that suddenly flooded his senses. Slowly rolling onto his back on top of the blade, he squirmed slightly to position it under his hands and carefully pressed it against the ropes around his wrists. Shifting his position as fast as he could once the rope broke, he reached back and jerked the bow from the injured elf's back along with several arrows, which he dropped beside him.

When the elf made to go after him, the young human pointed the bow at him.

"Don't move or you'll bleed to death."

Angered, the elf paused; he knew he was right, though he wouldn't admit it.

The young man turned the arrow towards the trees where the voice had come from, his own shook as he spoke, "Where are you? Come out where I can see you…"

"Don't be stupid child," an older man stepped from the trees, holding his own bow, but his arrow was aimed at the prince. The man eyed the arrow that was now being pointed back at him from the elf.

"We'll get you away from these creatures."

"Why did you shoot him?" his voice came out rough due to his dry throat. He hadn't spoken since he was first caught by the two elves.

"Why shouldn't I? And why are you complaining, we have no issue with you, boy, so don't push your luck."

"He didn't do anything to you…"

"Well, he sure seemed to do somethin' to you. We don't want these things takin' our own children, so we wanna fix the problem before it _becomes_ a problem."

The child dropped his gaze for a moment before shaking his head and lifting it to face the man again, "No… they treated me the same as they would an elven child my age in the same circumstances… they don't know any better."

"Is kinda hard to not notice how bad off YOU are, don't ya think? Look at yourself boy, I'm surprised you can still stan' up. What's your name? I never seen ya in the village before, you ain't from there are ya?"

"My name is Estel. I'm not from a human town."

The man scowled suddenly, "You're one of them rangers ain't ya?"

"No," Estel stated flatly, "I live with elves. I don't live with humans."

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the shocked look spread over the elf prince's face and he smiled weakly, "I've been trying to say that for a few days now. I suppose I should be thanking you for giving me the chance to do so… they told me to keep quiet every time I tried."

"And yet ya protect 'em? You ain't right in the head are ya kid? What am I sayin', you was stuck with them elves, course ya ain't."

"I'm more right in the head than you'll ever be, idiot," he stuck his tongue out at the man.

The greying man snorted, "I'm sure," his eyes fell to the weapon pointed at him, "what are ya gonna do kid? Ya gonna shoot me? Ya got the guts? How old are ya?"

Without giving the child a chance to respond he leaned forward and smirked, "Ya never cut a man before have ya boy? Think ya can do it? Go ahead. Cut me."

Estel wavered, his breathing quickening with every step the man took as he moved closer. He'd never cut someone. Never. He couldn't do it… could he? He didn't want to be like the man in front of him now; he didn't want to hurt someone. He didn't want to draw blood from him, he couldn't even shoot a deer last time he went hunting with his brothers, he hadn't been able to cut an animal, could he do it to a human? He swallowed, lowering the bow slowly.

The only elf that was currently fully aware behind him cursed.

"I…" he stuttered uneasily, "I can't… I'm not… I've never…"

Dropping the bow he buried his face in his hands, _'I'm sorry…'_

"Good boy, now git outta the way and lemme deal with these elfs here."

Estel edged to the side until he was next to the injured elf. Three other men suddenly materialized from the trees, their weapons aimed at their only real threat.

Legolas grit his teeth, his eyes darting from one man to the next. There was no way he could take them all before he was shot himself. There was nowhere for him to go now.

Estel stared. What had he done? At any rate, if he'd kept the bow on the man he could have kept the stalemate up. Now… now his brothers' friend was in serious danger and he hadn't done anything to help. His eyes darkened, they couldn't be allowed to get away with this. He slowly reached beside him, pulling his small sword out from the sheath that the elf had been carrying with him and had fallen next to him when he was shot. He carefully shifted himself into a position where he could get to the man quickly. His muscles tightened and for a moment he couldn't make himself move.

_'Go…'_ he thought desperately, urging himself up, _'go! Help him, do something, you have to do something, distract them!'_

Forcing himself up finally, he leapt closer to the man in front of him and swung the blade, his panic had shoved most of what he had learned about hand to hand combat from his head and all he could do was move forward and throw the blade at him. The metal bit into the man's leg and he screamed out in pain and shock, dropping his bow.

Legolas instantly saw this as his only chance to fight back. While the men's attention was on their leader and trying to pry the child away from him, they failed to realize that no one was watching the elf any more. His bow sung, hitting the men in their arms and legs. He hated humans, and he wanted them away from his home, but he refused to kill them if he could avoid it. He didn't want to give them any more reason to hate the elves.

By the time he finished tying the men up and deemed them safe to turn his back on, he turned to the small child curled up on the forest floor. Feelings of horror and regret instantly poured though his body and he sunk down next to him.

"Las…?"

The voice of his friend drew his attention for a moment before he simply bowed his head and turned back to the child. He gently set a hand on his should and jumped when the small human let out a cry of pain. He jerked back and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Valar… this is all our fault," he murmured softly, "what were we thinking, he's only a child."

"But he is human and it wouldn't be the first time they tried this."

Estel's eyes opened and locked onto the elven prince's face, "Prince Legolas," his voice was quiet, "I don't blame you, if I had only remembered what was happening here I would not have been stupid enough to wander in here. It's my fault and mine only, anyone else would have done exactly what you had."

"No." The elf stated sharply, "No one else would have taken a child captive, they would have sent you back."

"And if I were here for what you thought I was, do you think I would have just left?"

Legolas smiled weakly, "No… you would have shot me in the back the second I turned around," he glanced pointedly to the wounded man that the child had rather violently attacked moments before.

Estel winced and turned his head away, a strange look filling his eyes.

The elven prince bit his tongue in regret and seemingly forced himself to speak, "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be, it's fine," Estel sighed tiredly, he ached; he had been hit hard by several of the men in their attempts to get the blade from him. And he felt much sicker now than he had just before the ambush.

"No it isn't," the elf murmured softly, "please… let me do this properly."

Estel slowly turned his head to the elf, a faint frown on his face, but he could see quite clearly the honesty in his eyes. He shut his own for a moment before drawing himself up into a sitting position and staring at the elf in front of him.

Legolas lowered his head and set his hands on the ground in front of him, "I have made a horrible, inexcusable mistake. I only hope you can find it in your heart to forgive myself and my actions."

Estel smiled slightly, "There is nothing to forgive."

Legolas lifted his gaze and shook his head slightly, "I don't know of many elves who would forgive this so easily."

"I try," the child quipped weakly.

Legolas smiled slightly, then frowned, "When you said that your brothers knew me…"

Estel glanced over at him, "Yes. Elladan and Elrohir are my brothers, they've told me about you."

Legolas paled, "Elladan and… they're going to kill me…"

Estel winked at him, "I'll protect you. Now… you should help your friend before he passes out… and… I really wanna go to sleep."

Legolas's eyes widened, "No! You can't go to sleep, you could have a concussion."

Estel groaned, "I knoooow I just fail to caaaare."

Narrowing his eyes, the elf shook his head, "Don't go to sleep. I'm being very serious."

Estel stared at him and sighed, "Okay… help me up so I don't fall asleep then…"

The elf gently helped the child to his feet before moving to tend to his friend.

Estel paced slowly back and forth between the two elves and the trees before suddenly collapsing to his knees near a group of bushes, the unpleasant feeling in his stomach finally getting the better of him.

Legolas's gaze snapped over to him and he grimaced, "You do have a concussion don't you?"

"I don't think so," Estel muttered, "I don't really feel any worse now than I did an hour ago… just… sick."

Legolas frowned, "Then… why…?"

He groaned in response, forcing himself back to his feet, "Because I've been cold and wet for nearly a full week without a break and humans get sick when they get cold and wet for extended periods of time. It certainly doesn't help when they haven't slept well in three days," he winced.

Legolas stared at him, uneasy, "I didn't realize."

Estel waved it off with a sigh, "No, I'm sorry… I've been told many times over that I get very grumpy when I'm tired or sick… I'm sure I'm a lot more annoying when I'm both. If I say anything… rude or such… I apologize ahead of time, because I probably will if I haven't already."

"At least you're honest," Legolas smiled weakly.

Estel shrugged, "Maybe, anyway, there are herbs in my pack that should help stem the bleeding," he motioned to the wounded elf on the ground, "I am going to sleep now, if you don't like it, wake me up every hour just in case, but I don't have a concussion. Just a headache."

Legolas sighed, "Alright, sleep then," he stood up and unclipped his cloak from about his neck, "here, this should help keep you warm."

Estel smiled, "Thank you."

Legolas just nodded as he went back to his friend.

Estel happily curled up on the damp ground and let himself drift off; too tired to care that the water on the ground was already soaking into his clothes.

Legolas paused in cleaning out the arrow wound, he had found to his relief that the arrow hadn't hit anything vital. His attention was momentarily drawn to the sleeping child. It was the first time he'd bothered to pay any real attention to him and he realized rather suddenly that he didn't look quite right. He'd never seen a human with such pale skin before… and yet it had a strange pink hue to it that he just couldn't believe was a healthy sign. Something was wrong with the child and he was going to get him back to the city where he could contact his family.

**AN:**

**I felt kinda bad about all the inbox spammage I just did, so here's the next chapter XD lol**

**Rvw plz :P**

** 3**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 

Estel pried his eyes open and glanced around him, frowning uneasily when he found himself alone, he forced himself into a sitting position, shivering slightly. The side he had slept on was soaked and his face twisted into an expression of annoyance and disgust as he pulled the clothing away from his skin. He carefully folded up the cloak he had been given the night before. He made his way over to a fire pit that had been left behind and sat next to it, there was still a fair bit of heat coming off it, and he could only hope that the elves hadn't left him behind. He had no idea where he was anymore.

"The Prince left last night to take the humans to the city."

Estel jumped slightly and turned in the direction the voice had come from, he quickly caught sight of the elf in a tree that grew over the path.

"He told me to watch you. Doesn't want you left to your own devices I suppose. You should consider yourself lucky that he took any mercy on you at all."

Estel unconsciously rubbed his raw wrists, feeling suddenly nervous. He certainly didn't want to be left alone with this elf.

"Is he coming back? Or are you taking me there yourself?"

"He may meet us part way. Chances are it's just you and me. Yet he told me not to wake you up," the elf sneered, "so we lost a lot of travel time already. Pick up the pace and we may make it before nightfall. Get up."

Estel sighed and stood, hugging the cloak against himself uncomfortably. The elf stepped up next to him and pulled the young humans arms behind his back and tied them again. The child groaned, his shoulders slumped; his wrist hurt so badly, they had been rubbed raw in the last couple days and to have them re-tied now was like mocking him.

He silently followed the elf, knowing there was nothing more he could do about his predicament so he decided against putting up a fuss about his treatment. The Prince wasn't there anymore, and even if he was, the young human wasn't sure he would protect him anyway.

The young man's mind drifted throughout the day, trying to keep it off the pain in his wrist and his light-headedness. Easier said than done, but he managed to keep himself going all day.

The gates came as a relief to him and he collapsed the moment he got past the stone walkway and into the courtyard.

The cold stone felt good against warm skin and it was a welcome change to the wet ground. He sighed and let his eyes slide shut for a moment before rolling himself over to stare at the sky for the first time in close to a week. The stars were out, it was later than he thought it was. He heard a commotion behind him but he didn't have the energy to find out what it was. He let his eyes slide shut once more before he fell unconscious.

When he next opened his eyes, he found himself inside. His wrists had been carefully bandaged and he had been put into bed. He slowly lifted himself and glanced about the room, his gaze landing on the elf at his side.

Legolas smiled gently when he caught the human's eyes, "How are you feeling?"

"Not terrible," Estel smiled, rather embarrassed, his head still throbbed but otherwise he felt better after his rest, "I'm sorry if I've caused you any trouble…"

"None at all," Legolas smirked, "Lord Glorfindel however…"

"Glor's here?" Estel looked startled.

Legolas laughed, amused by the young man's nickname for the elf, "Yes, and it's been all we could do to keep him from killing the elf that brought you here," he winced, "or me for that matter."

Estel grinned, "He's all threats."

"I've never seen him lose his temper before though… I thought for sure he was going to kill us both…"

"Don't think you're in the clear yet," Glorfindel's voice growled as he pushed the door open.

Estel raised an eyebrow, "Picking on people smaller than you again, Glor'?"

The golden haired elf leaned over and gently hugged the small human, "Aren't I always?"

"Yes. I would know," he paused and peered up at the elf seriously, "don't be mad at Prince Legolas, okay?"

Glorfindel narrowed his eyes, "I see no reason not to be."

"I see no reason _for_ you to be," the child frowned, confused, "he only did what he thought he had to in order to protect his people."

Glorfindel shook his head, completely ignoring the fact that the one they were talking about was sitting right behind him, "But Estel, you're only a…"

Estel eyed him, "Only a… what?"

Glorfindel sighed, "Alright, we'll drop it for now. How did you get separated from those idiot brothers of yours?"

Estel laughed before getting serious again, "We were attacked by a group of wargs… the horses bolted and they told me to follow them. They said they would find somewhere safe to wait… I don't know how they expected me to follow them for very long," he rolled his eyes.

Glorfindel shut his eyes and shook his head, "I don't know how either… we haven't even begun training you in tracking yet."

"I told them that too," He huffed, "I told _you_ we should start that earlier."

The elf nodded, "I think we should."

There was a soft knock on the wooden door and it opened a moment later, "Lord Glorfindel? The King wishes to speak with you."

Eyeing the Prince, the Elf Lord nodded and stood, "I'll be back as soon as I'm finished."

Estel just nodded and watched him leave before glancing back at Legolas, "Has he always hated you?"

Legolas winced, "Not until today."

"I see, well, it'll be fine soon enough then."

"You seem very sure of yourself," Legolas smiled, leaning forward in his armchair.

Estel grinned, picking at the bandages around his hands, "I'm good at faking that."

"Of course," Legolas fell silent, dropping his gaze to the human's hands.

The kid ran his hands up his sides, a frown spreading across his face before he shrugged and went back to playing with the ends of the cloth about his wrists.

"Why did you stand up to him for me?"

Estel blinked, "Stand up to… Glor'? I don't know, he listens to me for some reason… I can usually get him to listen anyway. He's family, he told me I don't need to act all formal with him like most people do."

Legolas smiled slightly, "They're really close to you, aren't they?"

Estel was quiet, shifting his gaze back to his hands he shrugged quickly, "I suppose so, yes."

"Is there something wrong?" Legolas frowned worriedly, pausing inwardly, _'I'm honestly worried about a human…'_

"No, no," Estel shook his head, then sighed, "I just worried I'm more of a burden than anything else for them, I mean… look at this situation for instance? I finally get to leave Imladris's borders to go to Lothlorien and before we get there this happens… I didn't know how to get there… guess I turned the wrong way, huh?"

"You've never been there before, it's not your fault, particularly when you've never even been out of your homeland."

"Maybe… I don't want to be a burden any more… when I get home, I'll put more effort into my studies… especially tracking and mapping," he sighed, "and sword fighting, because that was pathetic."

The elf laughed and ruffled his hair, "It wasn't that bad, young one," he dropped his eyes for a moment before turning back to the child, "you saved our lives back there. I am in your debt."

"Well, if you hadn't found me I probably would have been lost in there forever, so let's call it even," Estel laughed.

"Perhaps, but we still didn't treat you well. So it's not even yet."

The child let out an exaggerated sigh, "Fine, have it your way Prince."

Legolas winced, "You don't have to call me that. The only people who call me that are people I don't like and my fathers advisors because he'd have their heads if they didn't."

Estel smirked at him; a strangely amused expression crossing his face.

"What?" The Prince asked warily.

"You like me," he replied innocently.

"Don't be too cocky, you might change my mind."

**AN:**

**J0**

**Okay, so I was bored. There are only four chapters to this, and I had it all finished before I started posting… I wanna see how this goes over and decide if I'm going to continue… I had a series going several years ago… I'm intending to rewrite them all here if I do end up going for it.**

**:3 On a completely random note: I'm getting a car soon :D (hopefully . ) 2000 VW Cabrio cuddles it I squee :3 black on black on black… black body, black top, black leathuh interior… ph34r my excitement spins**

**Just felt like saying that. :P**

I'm so incredibly tempted to nerd out and get pink neons for it :P have to find out how much that would cost tho…… and my dad is convinced that they would get it stolen o.O my step-mom/sisters think it'll make me look like a drug dealer . ooookay :3 I dun care, neon pink lights under a black car would look l33t You all know it's true :P

My argument for my dad is that it would make me more visible whilst driving at night :P He might catch on with that one lol

**Lady Akyrial – I'm glad you're enjoying it XD**

**Hello Anyone There – lol, I'm glad j00 like :D I gotta add… your name amuses me :3 Hope this was fast enough :P since technically… I uploaded the last one this morning :P**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

Estel sighed as he let the bow fall back to his side, "You see? I can't aim."

Legolas winced slightly, "Alright, I see what you meant… still, we can fix it, aim for me, I'll help you."

The child grumbled something under his breath and lifted the bow, drawing the next arrow back and aiming, stopping just before he would release the arrow.

Legolas shook his head, "That's where you're going wrong, you're aiming as if the arrow will fly straight, but… here, watch."

The elf lifted his bow and fired the arrow at the target.

Estel tilted his head to the side, a look of sudden understanding spreading across his face, "It arcs…"

"Did your brothers never tell you that? They were the ones teaching you, weren't they?"

Estel bowed his head, "'Ro teaches me sometimes, but I started with a teacher from the village since everyone was really busy with something else at the time."

"And he never told you the basics?" the elf frowned, annoyed.

"He never told me that…" the child sighed, "I guess it should have been obvious… now that I know, it is. I guess that's why they make fun of me huh? I can't even pick up on the basics by myself."

Legolas's frown deepened, "I didn't know that until someone told me. If no one ever told you, it isn't your fault… they make fun of you?"

Estel shifted his weight and winced, "Well, it's not like it's hard, I've been at the bottom of my class since I started. I get lessons from my brothers and even ada and Glor help me when they can and I still can't keep up with them."

"I'll bet none of them knew that you weren't even taught the basics though."

Estel sighed, annoyed, "It isn't just the bow though. It's everything. I just can't compare. My eyes aren't as good… I'm not as strong, not as fast. I can't do it at the same rate."

Legolas sighed, _'What am I supposed to tell the child? That he wont be able to compare to elven children?'_

Estel dropped his gaze at the silence, then narrowed his eyes and lifted the bow, holding it for a moment, he bit his lip and finally let the arrow go.

Legolas blinked in surprise, "Wow."

The child looked shocked and lowered the bow again.

Legolas smiled and knelt in front of him, "Listen. Never let yourself think that you can't do as well as any of them. Maybe you wont be able to hit the target as often as them. Maybe you'll do better. You may not have the eyes of an elf, but you only just learned the basics of shooting an arrow and you hit that target the first time you tried. No, you don't have the eyes and strength and speed of an elf but you've got smarts like I've never seen in an elf the equivalent of your age."

Estel looked startled, "I'm… really? You're just saying that to make me feel better…"

"I wouldn't lie to you, young one," the elf smiled, "now, try it again, but take a few steps back. What will you have to change?" 

The young human tilted his head to the side as he backed up a few steps, "Well… if you're further back and the arrow makes the same arc…" he paused thinking, "well, it'll hit lower, wouldn't it? So change the angle?"

"Show me," Legolas quipped, "aim the same way you did last time, give the arrow the same arc."

"Miss on purpose?"

"Yes."

Estel blinked at him before shrugging and doing as he was told. Just as he figured, the arrow was too low by the time it got as far as the target and skipped below it.

"Alright, hit the target this time."

Estel raised the bow and paused, he saw the previous arc in his mind and did his best to correct his 'mistake'. He shot the arrow off on a different angle and smiled when it hit the target.

Legolas smiled, "Very good."

Estel grinned, obviously pleased with himself, "Thank you."

The child shot off many more rounds, the elf instructing him gently when he didn't understand why he was aiming off or his arrows couldn't meet their target.

Estel sighed, tired, but pleased with his sudden progress.

"Let's see if you can make this last one hit the centre okay? Then we should head back," the elf realized that the child was growing tired.

Estel nodded slowly, he'd managed to hit the centre a couple times but not often or easily, carefully lifting the bow he took aim and stared at the target, watching the arrow before he even let it go, marking it's path before finally releasing it.

"Yes!" He cried, looking quite pleased.

Legolas just laughed and ruffled his hair.

Estel spun around and hugged the elf tightly, "Thank you!"

Legolas stuttered slightly in his response, "Y-you're… welcome," he shifted uncomfortably before finally smiling and setting a hand on his head.

"Estel?" The loud yell made both of them jump and the human child turned back and stared in the direction of the yell.

Two rather anxious looking elves ran into the training grounds and froze when they caught sight of him.

"Estel!" They cried the name at the exact same time and darted across the archery field to reach their little brother.

The first to reach him instantly lifted him up off his feet and held him close.

"Gah, 'Dan! Put me down!" Estel squirmed and laughed; pushing himself away from his brother but quickly reattaching himself to him when his feet hit the ground.

The younger twin dropped to his knees next to his little brother and pulled him down with him, "Never ever ever leave my side again, you hear me?"

Estel laughed, "Hey, you _told_ me to."

"Then never listen to me again," he stated, wrapping his arms around him and squeezing his eyes shut, "Valar, we were so worried about you."

"I'm fine, 'Ro, calm down."

"No, it's our fault you got lost, we said we'd take care of you while we were gone and we didn't… we failed you."

Elladan hung his head, shutting his eyes.

Estel sighed and rolled his eyes, "Why is everyone I meet blaming themselves because I can't take care of myself. Don't be stupid. There was nothing else you could have done."

Elladan smiled and wrapped an arm around his shoulders after he stood, "Well then little brother, what have you been up to here? They treating you well I hope."

Legolas swallowed uneasily.

Estel just grinned, "Yeah, 'Las is teaching me archery. He's better than any of my teachers."

"Hey!" Elrohir grinned.

"Sorry, 'Ro."

Legolas smiled, "Long time no see, friends. How long has it been? Fifteen years? Twenty?"

Elladan grinned, "Twenty-three if I remember correctly."

"How are things? Last we heard you were having some issues with a couple nearby human settlements."

Legolas nodded slowly, "There isn't much we can do if they insist on crossing our border."

"Your father's prisons are getting full aren't they?" Elladan snorted.

Legolas just sighed.

Estel noted his new friends discomfort and broke in, "Maybe it's not the best way to deal with them, but what else are they supposed to do, right?"

Elrohir frowned, "We know, we just can't agree with locking people up merely for trespassing."

"They don't only trespass," Estel stated coldly, "I saw them do worse."

Elladan narrowed his eyes, "What have they been doing?"

Legolas sighed again, "Several of our border guards have come back wounded, and a patrol unit disappeared a couple weeks ago."

The twins shook their heads in disgust.

"Indeed, it sounds as though there is a very difficult situation brewing between these two groups."

Elladan glanced over to the new voice, startled, "Glor'," he blinked.

The elf crossed his arms and scowled, "I'd like to get back. I'm getting tired of dealing with Thranduil. Isn't this supposed to be your father's job?"

Elrohir grinned, "Ah but you're so good at diplomacy Glor', who better is there for the job?"

"The one who signed up for it," He grumbled, "that elf can put anyone in a bad mood… no offence meant Legolas, but you're father is a lot to deal with."

Legolas laughed, simply relieved that the other elf didn't seem so mad at him anymore, "Yes, I know. No offence taken."

"Good, now I know you three haven't seen each other in a while, but I want to head home, set up a meeting time if you wish and get back on your horses if you even managed to find them."

Elrohir laughed, "We did, we did," he motioned to his brothers, "come on, let's go before Glor' drags us out of here by our ears."

Estel paused and glanced back at the Prince, "'Las… will you come visit us soon?"

The elf smiled, "I'd love to, but at the moment I can't leave. I'll be sure to visit when this is all sorted out with the human settlements. How about it?"

"I'll hold ya to it," the young human smirked.

"I'm sure you will," Legolas grinned and winked at him, "keep practicing your archery skills. I'll be expecting a lot from you when I visit."

Estel grinned, "I will."

Elladan laughed, "All the practice in the world may not help this child."

Estel scowled, "It's not my fault my teacher didn't teach me right."

The three other elves all raised eyebrows at him.

Legolas laughed, "Be sure you tell your father about that, okay? I'm sure he'll talk to your teacher about it."

Estel waved it off, "Whatever, I think I know why he did it, but I'll show him now."

"You better work on your observation skills too young one," the blonde elf smirked.

Estel rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah."

Elrohir frowned down at his brother, "What did your teacher do?"

Estel glanced over at the dark haired elf and shrugged, "Not what he did… what he didn't do. But it doesn't matter anymore."

Elrohir sighed, "Alright, if you say so," he glanced over at his friend, "we'll see you soon then?"

"Sounds good," Legolas smiled.

"Alright, let's get home," Elladan smiled.

Estel watched his brothers head off the archery field and he glanced back at the Prince, "You will come though? I know 'soon' means something different to you than it does to me," he sighed sadly and shook his head, "but you will come as soon as you can?"

"The first chance I get, _tithen min_," the elf smiled, "I promise." //little one//

Estel nodded and turned to follow his brothers.

Legolas smiled as he watched him leave, _'He's going to become a good man. I'll look forward to seeing that boy again,'_ he shook his head in amusement and went to pick up his arrows.

A/N

So yeah, that's it. Short, I know, but if I continue with this story line, I don't want Legolas to remember him as nothing more than a child so I didn't want them to be together too long. Hope you liked it, and I'll try to work on my canon for the next story XD I have just decided to shun the beginning of my next story due to the fact that it swerved very quickly in a boring direction, so I'm re-writing it lol

Hello Anyone There – lol, well the last one was a fast update, this one… meh. :P I tend to be an on and off writer, so just to warn ya, there's more than likely going to be periods of time when I'll update really often, and other periods where I wont for a couple weeks. My job doesn't help matters XD btw, my friend informed me that pink neons on my car would make me a pimp lol apparently I just need the hat and fuzzy dice now.

Poetic Tragedy3790 – I'm really glad you enjoyed the chapter :) hope you liked the ending as well :D

Catch ya all next story :D Loves Hugs and Cookies for all :D loff

Tare


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